Unless you live in California, you might not know that we are having something of a heat wave. Sure, it gets hot here in the summer and I do technically live in the desert, but when the temperature is consistently over 106F, it takes a toll on your desire to do things. Like cook and eat.

Fortunately for me, I still feel like cooking. The thought of eating hot foods is another matter entirely. For an energy boost that took neither heat nor effort, I made a simple milkshake.

The classic American definition of a milkshake is a blended mixture of ice cream, milk and some sort of flavoring or fruit. This is known as a “thick shake” in countries like Australia and in the UK. There, milkshakes are traditionally cold, frothy flavored milks. I tend to view a milkshake as the latter, but this particular shake sort of spans the two types.

I blended partially frozen bananas with a bit of vanilla soy milk, then added chocolate to half of the batch. The shake isn’t too sweet, especially the chocolate side, as I didn’t add any extra sugar to it, but you can easily add in a few teaspoonfuls of sugar or a tablespoon of honey to sweeten it up and change the flavoring a bit. By pouring them into the glass simultaneously, I ended up with a neat swirled effect.

Two-Tone Banana Milkshake

2 medium/large bananas, frozen and partially defrosted

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk (or plain milk), divided

2-3 tsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp sugar (optional)

In a food processor, blend one banana with 1/4 cup milk (The banana should not be frozen solid). Pour into a measuring cup, one with a pouring spout, and set aside.
Blend second banana with remaining milk and cocoa powder. Add sugar, to taste, if desired.
Pour chocolate mixture and plain mixture simultaneously into a large glass.
Add a straw and enjoy!